Hi There,
Im very new to the whole set up. i came home from a weekend away for my birthday and my boyfriend had installed a marine fish tank for me !!
He got a fella in to set it all up for me properly, so it was all set up with water/gravel/live rock/filters/lights etc. The tank is a Orca Tl-450.

I left it settel 3 wks and today i went and got myself a test kit and did all the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite test and everything was ok, so I now have 2 new fish to start with (a clownfish and blue regal tang).

When in the shop i was going to get a cleaner shrimp also, but i would have to test the water first, so i have the instant ocean Hydrometer at the moment.

Question is, Should I leave this for a few hours to settle, or will it give me an exact reading straight away ? I know the reading should be btwn 1.020 and 1.024, at the moment its more like 1.028....im very confused about the whole reason I have a hydrometer, and if it doesnt drop to the required element, will this affect my 2 new fish ???

Also, how long should I leave it before adding in more fish and plants etc...

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.. Im very new to all this.... I think my reading material will change dramtically in the next few weeks..!!!

Thanks
Tricia

I wish someone would get me a present like that for my birthday. Anyone?
Welcome to the forum Tricia.
If you were keeping fish only a specific gravity of 1.020 up to 1.025 would be fine as long as you keep it roughly at one level and not fluctuating from day to day. 1.020 one day, 1.025 the next and back down to 1.022.
Since you want to add corals (plants) i would keep it at SG 1.024-1.025.
To test the SG dip the hydrometer in to the water untill full. Remove and place on a flat surface to get a reading. Some times small air bubbles stick to the needle/arm and give you a higher reading. Just poke it with a pencil or similar to release bubbles. I take 3 tests. the first always seems to be lower the the second 2. I go with the third reading.
Once the needle/arm of the hydrometer settles this is your SG. No waiting around. An instant reading.
Yours is high at 1.028 so you need to dilute this with water (no salt added). Tap water will do, just add some through out the day. Drop it down to your desired level over 1-2 days.

To be honest i dont think this tank is big enough for these fish. Personally i would have gone for smaller fish. But that is just my opinion.
Dont add the shrimp or other fish for a couple of weeks until you get used to the tank and the maintenance.

The best advice i could give is to take it slowly. Stocking should be done over months instead of weeks. I know this is hard to resist but it is the best way to succeed.
Most of all enjoy your new tank.

Darren.

Thanks for that Darren.. theres so many things to know, im afraid of doing something wrong...im sure it will all start to make sense.
Thanks again
Tricia.

No problem Tricia.
Read trough some of the posts here to pick up ideas and info.